Eight major vendors lost at least one key IT executive in the first half of 2017, while five other vendors tapped someone from outside for an executive role and two leaders got big promotions or reassignments. Here's a summary of all the key moves.

From bankruptcies to billion-dollar acquisitions, from massive security attacks to disruptive cloud outages -- and a controversy or two -- CRN takes a look at the news stories that captured our attention in the first half of the year.

Jason Dishon, Nitel's executive vice president of sales and marketing, shares how he and his team are building out the telecom service provider's channel strategy with a focus on training and recruiting new partners.